WRITING TOPIC — SCARS

Scars may be an odd topic, I know. But scars, random warrior marks across body (and mind), remind us that we’ve lived a full life. A nick, a cut, a slice. I remember when I was a young girl, my mother sliced her finger open while peeling potatoes; the wound took several stitches and weeks to heal. And when I was about six, my young brother fell off his tricycle while standing on the seat, reaching for a pickle jar resting on the brick window ledge of our carport. There was blood everywhere; it scared me to death.

Scars have a long memory. They follow some kind of trauma in a life. Here is a little scar geography from the years that I have lived:

#1 — Index finger in the crease above the knuckle. I was sharpening dental tools in the late 70’s, when a blade caught on a grinding wheel and popped up into the air. I watched in slow motion; gravity took its course and the steel tip landed in my finger. (Occupational hazard of the dental tool sharpener.) — Montana

#2 — Middle finger, second crease above the knuckle. While performing the perfect high dive at a pool party (showing off for my high school friends) I didn’t realize how shallow the deep end was. Bam! scraped my knuckles on the bottom and came up bleeding. Not cool. — Pennsylvania

#3 — Inside wrist, right side, a burn scar shaped like a lop-sided heart. I was helping an art school friend paint scalding hot bees wax on her senior project, a huge sculpture made of all natural materials. She’d heat up the dark brown bees wax in an old electric skillet her grandmother gave her and slather it across branches of wood. Memories of art school. — Minnesota

#4 — Inside of left calf – a light burn scar shaped like the edge of the tailpipe I brushed against when stepping off the saddle of my uncle’s Honda. I was about 13 and asked if he’d take me on a ride across Pennsylvania back roads around East Berlin. He forgot to tell me the first rule of the road about motorcycles – always step off the side without the 500-degree tailpipe. (Ironically, it’s the same day I fell in love with motorcycle riding.) — Pennsylvania

Do you have scars on your body, the kind of unexpected life happenings that leave a little mark? Or maybe you’ve had surgery under the knife (before the laser) and have a long zipper down your abdomen or across your right knee. My brother has had two liver transplants and I am awestruck by what he has endured, evidenced by the long scars down his chest. He recently became a candidate for a third transplant, and the last time I was home, he joked that he was going to tattoo a dotted line down his chest – – – – Cut Here.

Scars can also be psychological and emotional. Childhood trauma, abuse, post traumatic stress, or scars associated with cultural rites of passage. Stressful life events become markers, cairns on the journey. Scars provide a rich vein of material to be excavated. In your next Writing Practice, follow the scars across your body. They contain deep memories and feelings, a topographical map through the past.

Sharon, I like the story of the scar less than a week before your wedding. Great memories related to body topography. I had no idea you had posted that. Synchronicity. I went back and grabbed a Topic post I had started a long time ago. It was in draft form and I decided to finish it. I was reminded of scars because I keep thinking about my brother’s scars from his liver transplants. By the time you live a while, you can sure dig up the memories from the scars you’ve collected. As always, thank you for visiting. The inner scars, I think they are harder to write about but so important to document. Scars heal. I think it’s also good to write about the healing.

Scaramastra, that’s a good observation. I think we become kind of attached to scars. Maybe what they represent, the things we’ve been through. Perhaps nurturing from someone during the time you had the chicken pox. I do think they are kind of our warrior marks, ways we’ve had to walk through this life. Maybe you should write about your chicken pox scar and see where it takes you. The reasons you like it may be revealed. I kind of like my little scars, too. I have a larger one from the one time I had surgery. I remember being terrified of it at first, but everything went fine. I think the scars become a part of us.

Bob, I had a teacher who had a similar pen scar on her face. I think it was my first grade teacher. It was a blue dot from a pen point that had somehow gotten poked into her face. I never got the story. But here I am, years and years and years later, recalling that scar on her face. It reminds me that others notice our scars. And carry them as well. Some are repulsed by scars. They can be a burden in American culture where the norm is for a human to have a symmetrical, scar-free body and face. I don’t strive for perfection. In body or mind. It’s not something I’m ever going to achieve. But some do. I wonder what it is about, that drive for perfection.

I love this Writing Topic, QM! I have a big scar on my knee, inside area, that looks like a centipede. It was to remove a benign tumor when I was about 12. These days the same scar would be way less obvious, but mine has a big gash and thn about 16 dots on either side from the stitches. That one will surely figure in my Writing Practice, as it came at such an impressionable age.

BTW, I’m in Vietnam now, but jetlag struck–I woke up at 4-something. :(

ybonesy, hope your jetlag goes away soon! I wanted to mention that in the Topic, that older scars are much more obvious. One of my grandmothers had a hysterectomy and a gall bladder operation in the 50’s, early 60’s, and the scars were HUGE. I bet some don’t realize how much things have changed with the laser work. Sounds like that’s the case with your knee. Looking forward to these practices. Safe travels!

Bob, I have been wanting to come back and comment on your question about the tattoos, piercing and scar trends. I was going to mention that in the Topic post but it seemed too complicated and I didn’t want it to get too long. So I’m glad you brought it up. I don’t know where those trends come from. Something about pain, about the ability to endure pain, a kind of rite of passage? Or have we become so numbed out that those are the ways that we get ourselves to feel again. Or is it simply for the beauty of the art form. I don’t know. I wonder if people have done studies on it in recent years. Then, on the other hand, we have whole industries developed around erasing scars, whitening teeth, getting rid of wrinkles. They are striving for perfection. Both extremes. Who will win out in the end.

[…] Postscript: This essay is based on a 15-minute Writing Practice in response to WRITING TOPIC – SCARS. The details that emerged from my Writing Practice were similar to other times when I’ve done […]